Changing the public opinion of New Jersey, one bright spot at a time

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Good afternoon, readers! I hope everybody is staying safe after Hurricane Sandy! As many of you probably know, she made landfall last night around 8:00 PM near Atlantic City, New Jersey. The flooding was historical, and she is the worst storm to make landfall since 1903. Over one million people in the Garden State are currently without power, and the majority of the shore is still evacuated and underwater.

In the midst of all the destruction and disaster, however, there is one bright spot—I was, and continue to be, very pleased with how the officials in New Jersey responded to the disaster. I felt that I was constantly informed of any danger that could result, all the appropriate evacuations were taken, and Governor Christie even offered to move Halloween to November 2nd to keep the children of New Jersey safe.

I believe we also owe a huge thank you to the newscasters who put themselves in danger to inform us and keep us posted. It’s an amazing feeling to know that when a natural disaster threatens the citizens of New Jersey, we have many people willing to inform us, help us, and guide us through the experience.

If you have any pictures of storm damage, please, feel free to post them in a comment or email them to me at kristenlovesnewjersey@gmail.com as long as you’re safe!
I hope everybody’s doing well!

Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall between tomorrow and Tuesday, very close to where I live. I’m not going to lie, I am a bit nervous!
I hope you guys are all staying safe; this is a dangerous storm and I want you guys to be safe during and after!
I’ll be tweeting throughout the storm, provided the power doesn’t go out, @thenewnewjersey. So feel free to follow me there if you’d like updates!
I plan to also be writing some blog posts throughout the storm (the old fashioned way, with pen and paper of course!) so I’m excited to write and post them.
If your comments or emails don’t get approved or answered over the next few days, please understand I’m probably just in a place where it’d be near impossible to access the Internet. I’ll be thinking of you guys!
Until next time,
~Kristen

I’m sure everyone here can relate to going to the mall. I go a lot. And when I go, I love to eat. I always start off a fun night with my friends at Saladworks, so I was shocked to learn that they currently only exist in New Jersey and Florida. Locations around the country are coming soon, so hopefully I can convince you to try it when they come to your area!

Saladworks is a staple in most New Jersey malls, and a few stand-alone locations too. Their specialty is, obviously, salads! You can choose from a pre-created one made with fresh ingredients or make your own. Every topping imaginable is available—my favorites are pasta and ham. Each salad comes with a fresh white or wheat roll. If you’re not a salad person, they also offer wraps, paninis or soups.

The food is clearly healthy; according to their website the chicken Caesar salad has roughly 290 calories (that’s a big bowl too!) and the garden deluxe has 239. At around $8 to build your own, they are slightly pricey, but it’s definitely worth it!

Next time you’re in New Jersey, definitely make it a point to stop in Saladworks. And who knows, maybe soon, one will open near you!

Hey guys! Yesterday was another great day down the shore at Atlantic City. It’s a little sad to think it might be our last time down there all summer. Although I do love Atlantic City, I have to admit it’s not the most family-friendly beach destination. On one end of the beach, you can constantly hear the roar of helicopters taking people on tours. On the end where we were, closer to the casinos, you can constantly hear the music thumping. I think the reason so many people love it, aside from the casinos, is that you don’t have to buy beach tags. Which got me thinking—are beach tags, essentially charging to get on the beach, really fair?

Atlantic City, Wildwood and Strathmere are the only beaches that don’t require a purchased beach tag to enter. As for the price, that varies by location—Ocean City charges only $25 for a seasonal pass while Avon charges $90. Daily tags are generally between $5 and $10. The reasons cited for the charge actually do make sense—they help pay for the cost of lifeguards, trash removal, public facilities and other amenities. This, of course, has to raise the question if Jersey Shores are really worth $8 a day.

I’m willing to admit that the beaches you have to pay for are generally nicer—Ocean City seems cleaner; Surf City seems less crowded. And it is logical that to go on a beach and have services provided to, by which I mean lifeguards and general beach patrolling, you should have to pay a small fee. The only thing that bothers me is that as a New Jersey resident, my taxes are going to the government to keep our state clean and then I have to pay again to go on my beach. I feel that as a New Jersey resident, as a resident of a state on a shoreline, it should be the government’s responsibility to provide clean beaches to its citizens. That’s why I think New Jersey residents should be exempt from paying for beach tags.

Now it may seem unfair to charge only people from out-of-state. And don’t get me wrong, tourism is such a huge part of the Jersey Shore industry and I’m happy to have them here. But they’re not paying taxes. They’re not already giving money to the government. They’re coming here and using our services, and while we welcome them, they’re obligated to pay for it.

I know that this has been a controversial topic, so I’d love to hear your opinion. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our trip!

Hey guys! ❤ So as I mentioned a few posts back, Ocean City New Jersey was my vacation destination as a child. After not being down there for two years, we decided to go back yesterday, just to walk the boardwalk since beach tags are required to get on the beach. I must admit, the second we walked up on the boardwalk between the beach store and Fudge Kitchen, I felt like I was bag at home and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. There are so many amazing aspects of Ocean City that I think I have to split them up into multiple blog posts. The first thing I’ll talk about is the amusement park, Playland’s Castaway Cove.

One of the things I’ve always liked about Playland is that their tickets never expire, so at the end of the season you don’t have to worry about using all of them up. My mom still had over 100 from the last time we were down there, so we set off to the park, located at 10th and Boardwalk (on the boardwalk). The park is fairly big with a few roller coasters and log flumes. There’s also a large train that drives around the park, so you can get a view of everything before you decide what to ride. I’m not a very big fan of thrill rides, so my dad and I set off the little kids section.

There was a mini roller coaster called The Sea Serpent. I remembered it from when I was younger, but I honestly doubted I’d fit in one of the cars with my dad! There was also an antique Jeep ride, where cars follow a track while the kids “drive”. My dad joked we should go on that now that I’m driving. Ultimately, the first ride we decided to go on was called Tidal Wave. It consisted of large arms of three seats coming out from the middle. The middle part then rotated in circles as the arms bounced up and down. It was really cute, and so much fun.

After Tidal Wave, we decided to go on the Ferris Wheel. It gave us a great view of the ocean and the entire shore town; I’ve attached a few pictures taken from the top for you guys. The view was simply breathtaking, and I’d recommend the ride if for nothing other than that.

When we got off, we decided to save our tickets for another day since we’d just eaten. After all, they never expire so it didn’t matter! It was a really great experience, and a must-do if you’re ever in Ocean City, New Jersey.

For the past year and a half, I considered myself an Atlantic City girl. I lived to breathe the salt air that wafted off the ocean or to see the bright lights of the casinos.

I was wrong. Dead wrong. It turns out I’m a Brigantine girl at heart. Brigantine is an island city located right next to Atlantic City, and after my family’s sense of adventure led us there, we fell in love. The beaches are smaller and more secluded; they also seem cleaner. The sand is actually white instead of the off-gray often found on beaches, and the ocean is much bluer. The neighborhood is, in a word, quaint. I’ve found some shore towns feel very busy and city-like, but Brigantine doesn’t have a boardwalk or rushed feel to it. The houses seem like the type where kids go play in the backyard all day and walk the dog and it just seems perfect.

The only downfall is that Brigantine requires beach tags ($8.00 daily), but the beaches are so nice I believe it’s well worth it. Swimming, surfing and fishing are also allowed in certain parts of the beaches. All in all, Brigantine is a great place to spend a day with the family!